New Delhi, June 22 (IANS) The next time you tune into an FM channel, don't be surprised to hear Virender Sehwag asking you to drive safely. The ace batsman has been roped in by the Delhi Traffic Police to help make Delhiites aware about traffic rules ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
'Please follow traffic rules, stick to your lane', Sehwag's voice plays in between popular songs on FM channels.
The Delhi Traffic Police has roped in Sehwag to endorse its traffic awareness campaign.
'Sehwag has joined the project in educating people on traffic sense. We expect it to have an impact and people will become responsible in the coming months. We hope to get more celebrities,' Ajay Chadha, special commissioner of police (Traffic), told IANS.
Sehwag in his messages also urges people to stick to lanes, obey traffic rules - to make Delhi a safe traffic place.
Apart from the awareness campaign, the traffic police is spreading its safe traffic message through social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. Delhi Traffic Police has a profile on the two sites, which is visited by many people.
'We have more than 6,600 followers on Facebook now. By the time the games (CWG) commence, we are expecting around 20,000 followers. We think that by opening a dialogue with people, things can work more effectively and swiftly,' he said.
With the success of its outreach programme, the traffic police is to take up other initiatives too like educating drivers about lane management.
'In the coming weeks, we will launch drives to educate drivers on lane management for the Games lane,' he said, referring to a dedicated lane that will be in use during the Games to transport athletes and officials.
'Similar drives to enforce lane driving, especially for giving way to emergency vehicles, will also be launched,' Chadha said.
Asked how it feels to manage the traffic situation in Delhi, Chadha said: 'It is a challenging task to manage the traffic situation. My efforts are on and I hope to see some definite changes in the times to come.'
